A woman has been charged with uttering threats after provincial animal protection workers converged upon a house in Wolseley on Thursday to seize 120 cats living in “unsanitary” conditions.

“I can say we dealt with threats that for us were quite serious, and we did contact police and required their assistance,” Colleen Marion, a companion animal welfare veterinarian with the province’s chief veterinary office, said Friday. “We did have significant concern for our personal safety.”

Winnipeg police were called to assist in the eventual seizure of 120 cats deemed “to be in distress under the Animal Care Act” from a house in the 200 block of Evanson Street.

It was police that first alerted the province, and it’s believed the workers attended the home on Dec. 2, removing five cats and one dog before returning with a warrant to complete the task on Thursday.

The cats, which ranged from young kittens to adults, were receiving care from the province at one of their facilities. Officials are still assessing the animals’ health, looking for infections in their eyes, ears or nose as well as signs of scalding from the constant presence of urine. None have yet been euthanized.

A “quite strong offensive odour” was noted as the cats were taken out of the house in plastic pet carriers and crates due to high levels of ammonia, Marion said.

The woman was detained Thursday evening. Sources believe there may be mental health issues involved in the case.

Marion said officials are often dealing with “high emotions” when it comes to pet owners.

“It’s not uncommon for individuals to sometimes not be cooperative or be confrontational because we’re dealing with emotional situations and we’re dealing with pets that people care deeply about,” she said.

It isn’t yet clear if the woman charged is the owner of the cats, with numerous suites believed to be inhabited in the 2 1/2-storey, 1,854-sq.ft home less than a block north of Portage Avenue.

The owner has seven days to appeal the seizure, or could choose to voluntarily surrender the animals to the province. Should that happen, or an appeal ruling go against the owner, the province would assess their health and behaviour to determine if they’d be good candidates to put up for adoption through various shelters they work with, including the Winnipeg Humane Society and D’arcy’s A.R.C.

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120 cats seized from Wolseley home

A woman has been charged with uttering threats after provincial animal welfare workers converged upon a house in Wolseley on Thursday to investigate a case of animal cruelty.

Winnipeg police were called to assist in the eventual seizure of 120 cats deemed "to be in distress under the Animal Care Act" from a house in the 200-block of Evanson Street, a provincial spokesman said.

The cats, which ranged from young kittens to adults, were receiving care from the province. None have yet been euthanized. Officials are still assessing the animals' health.

According to reports, many were in rough shape with eye and ear infections and various intestinal problems.

Police on scene said they attended the same address a few weeks ago to discover the home wall-to-wall with cats. Some were kept in small rooms and appeared unwell, according to an officer at the scene.

A strong stench of ammonia was noted as the cats were taken out of the house in plastic pet carriers.</